Close to Time
by Aiere
Summary: His eyes were swirling masses of pale winter wonder and yet...—it was her, who was easily still the most enchanting thing in the room..."/ Language&Content/Shoujo-ai.
_Chapter 01_

 _ **"tell me my fortune.."**_

* * *

Dried leaves littered Konoha Gakuen's schoolyard in heaps of waxen yellows, burnt oranges and fiery reds.

Some even took to fluttering wildly through the wind's hair, whilst others found themselves adorning the glass panes of the pale school building. Hazel-coloured eyes caught each movement as more and more leaves began piling themselves all around the windows of her classroom. She traced the outlines of a considerably burnt stack of leaves as they took to seeking a silent hara-kiri from the weather by beating themselves against the glass window. She sighed to herself, letting her hands drop from the window _…I wonder if he woke up late again?_

She finally looked away from the scenery the cold autumn morning had to offer her, and instead found mild interest in her pencil as if preparing it for an unscheduled inspection. Its battered, chewed-in appearance was nothing short of criminal, and yet it's enduring ability to still function as a tool for writing continued to captivate her.

So was the idle mind of one Tenten Yukari.

So captivated was she by her pencil, that she failed to notice a tall lean figure sitting in the chair beside her, as well as watching her for a few minutes before calling out:

"Ten…what are you doing?"

The girl jumped slightly, seeing her closest friend's look of concern before smiling widely and replying, "Counting the grooves in my pencil!"

She then threw him a thumbs-up declaring, "And given the easily discernible level one scowl of doom on your face…no gum in your hair today?"

The boy in question gave her a slightly disdainful look for bringing up something his kid cousin had a habit of doing while he was asleep, and chose to casually open up his school case and busy himself with rummaging through is contents. Tenten grinned mischievously in his direction, especially at the look on his face accompanied by his usual going-to-ignore-you-now tantrum. Oh how she loved irritating him first thing in the morning! She honestly believed that this was what it meant to be best friends with someone: you not only look out for each other well, but you annoy each other just as well.

He wasn't going to answer her. It wasn't in his nature to prolong conversation or start another, but it was most certainly Ten's nature to press on relentlessly. "But seriously, _did_ she put gum in your hair again? It doesn't have its usual perfect solidity."

Neiji gave her a strange look, "Your obsession with hair is quite serious, is it not?"

"Its not that serious I promise." She nodded solemnly as she let the thin silk strands of his hair fall through her fingers. He really did have beautiful hair.

"And you're absolutely certain you don't ever visit the hairdresser?"

Neiji turned around searching through the contents of his book bag, choosing to ignore her as Ten smiled along pleasantly.

Hyuuga Neiji was interesting sometimes. He hardly spoke a word and, he hardly showed incentive. Yet, he seemed to always want to be around her, and even up to this day, it still seemed to take her some bit of effort to get used to it. But she liked him, and he was always there.

He handed her a pencil.

She stared at it cluelessly.

"Why are you giving me your pencil?"

"Yours just fell out the window, and we have a test in a few minutes." Neiji justified.

"Oh." Her countenance voiced how unconcerned she was with that information. "One of your fortune 'tellings' again?" She looked at him, a small smile reaching her pale-rose lips.

"Its not fortune telling, its an inevitable inkling." He started, opening his bottled water. "All the great men on earth have had at least a dozen inevitable inklings within the course of a single day."

"Hm…can you tell me my fortune then, Neiji-kun?" Ten asked, her hazel-brown eyes wandering to the plain white ceiling of their classroom. "I want to be rich and famous, and I want a black panther in my back yard."

Neiji sighed. "You can't tell your fortune what you want, it tells you what you're lucky enough to get." He leaned back in his chair, observing her for a few seconds.

"You know, you operate as if you have a job and seven children."

"How so?"

He gave her a classic blasé look, "You're always falling asleep in class."

"Well, maybe school's not that important." She smiled at him, sharpening the pencil he gave her.

"You can't get a job if you don't attend school, Ten." He said matter-of-factually.

"That's not true," Ten tilted her head to the side. "Prostitutes and drug dealers live pretty well."

Neiji choked on his water.

She laughed, finding it incredibly funny how his face got whenever it was trying to battle out an oncoming emotion.

"A decent job, not a crack one." He clarified once recovered.

"Never thought I'd hear you use that kind of language, Neiji-kun." Ten stated, giving him a disapproving look before smiling lightly.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with the word cra-" He went on to counter indignantly before being cut off by the slamming of the classroom door.

"Morning everyone!" Their teacher announced. "Get ready for a pop quiz."

Neiji promptly turned around clearly agitated as Ten ducked her head in an attempt to hide her laughter from both him and the teacher.

She loved getting him out of sorts, his expressions were worth two million and counting. Even though it took to annoying him to get one out in the open, she was still grateful that he had the ability to show some emotion…to be human sometimes. It was a nice break from his usual robotic displays.

She smiled to herself for knowing this and picked up her pencil, feeling ready for inevitable inklings

* * *

"Wishing you all the best on this pop quiz, can't wait to fail you all," Rang their subject teacher's cheerful voice, as most of everyone began steering as far away as possible from the classroom as soon as the bell rang for recess.

Looking out into the hall, it was getting clearer and clearer just how dusky the corridors were starting to become. Ten could already see dark clouds forming…could it be rain? And during the ending of Fall? It was indeed a little odd in itself but that was exactly what it looked like on the outside. She glanced over to Neiji. He didn't seem one bit perturbed by the dimness of the corridor or the set up for rainfall on the outside. As she looked more closely at him, she wondered how it only took one summer for him to get so tall. It made her feel even smaller walking beside him. She remembered how she used to tower him when they were little and how they kept the same height thereafter. Although, that was only up until they made it to their junior year.

And he seemed so much more mature than she remembered. Well, he was always mature—he was Neiji, but still, there was a something more in his attitude now.

 _Maybe he got himself a girlfriend…_ Ten found herself thinking.

Now that she was considering such a possibility, it really would be a good thing for Neiji if he were to have one. That way, there was hope for him to ensure some sort of happiness in companionship before he graduates and leaves for South Korea. She gazed up at him…it was difficult not to feel sad about him leaving next year. Even though it was his purpose to take over his uncle's company branch in Seoul city, from what Ten could see…Neiji didn't seem to want that at all.

Ten had gotten so accustomed to watching Neiji's uncle restrict his life that she feared the plausibility of her friend growing into that kind of attitude too. So a girlfriend, someone he could imagine a life with and spend time with would really help him.

The brunette smiled at her friend, "Neiji-kun?"

"Hn?"

"Why don't you have a girlfriend?" Ten asked, tentatively.

He looked at her like she was crazy, "Whatever for?"

"Well obviously to date and to hold and to probably eat ice-cream with-"

"Sounds like a waste of holding and money." He cut her off.

Ten sighed. Maybe she imagined it. The whole older mature thing was just not up his alley yet, he was only fifteen after all.

"Okay, well will you take _me_ to go get some ice-cream? It's just on the corner, I don't want to go alone."

He seemed to have to think about it.

Ten gave him a look.

He sighed. "Fine."

"Yay." She grinned.

"We can share it-"

"NO."

* * *

Ten kicked away softly at the wall in front of her classroom.

She looked around to the few other students that had been waiting for the past hour and a half outside the classroom, wondering if Neiji was even the slightest bit annoyed that she made him late as well by insisting that he follow her for ice-cream. She glanced over to him, finding that he looked as unconcerned as the rest of students waiting along with them. Their eyes meeting, he gave her a slightly raised eyebrow as if in question as to why she was staring at him but then—

"Okay, you guys can come in now. The next time you're late, I'll make sure it's your lunch period." Their homeroom teacher took to announcing.

A few jeers along with a few 'yeah, right' were heard as everyone proceeded to the door creating a series of shuffling disoriented noise, as well as pushing others aside, like Ten, in order to make it into the classroom. She found it distasteful the hostility in which they did it as well, no apologies no pardon me's—not a thing.

Neiji was right behind her, she could smell him. She suddenly wondered if she should ask him whether or not he knew he smelled like girls' shampoo but was interrupted when she bumped into—

— _strawberries._

No…

… _a person?_

Ten looked up to apologize and stopped.

It was a girl, fully clad in their notably unattractive school uniform being ushered in by their homeroom teacher. Ten watched as the girl bit her unnaturally flush red lips, her vivid green eyes looking about the classroom in obvious boredom.

And her hair… Ten could not stop staring at her hair.

It was _pink_.

As a matter of fact, she didn't even know hair dye was sold in such a shade. It was a strange pink though, not the bright artificial kind…it was a soft pink—almost a colourless wash. Ten quickly got in and took her seat, along with the rest of her class. The girls seemed annoyed and the guys seemed taken back to the point of immediate silence.

Neiji, as usual seemed unconcerned.

"Well class, it would seem that we have a new transfer student from Osaka. If you would introduce yourself Miss?"

Not saying that something was wrong with the soft pink colour, it was just…not a normal hair color for a person. Ten did find that sort of color suiting for the new student, what with all the other bright accessories she had on…but just not suiting for a _future_ student in Tokyo District.

 _"Ah..Hey, I'm Haruno Sakura!"_

Not to mention that dying your hair elaborate colors was against the rules of the school. Surely, Mr. Kitanaka must have noticed and if he didn't, then Ten was going to certainly raise her hand and—

— _"Please take care of me."_

But then the bell rang.

* * *

Ten picked at her sesame dumplings, turning them over with her chopsticks.

"Neiji?"

"Hn."

"What do you think about the new student?" She looked at him carefully, least a facial expression presented itself on the behalf of the subject that seemed to affect—most if not all of—the boys of her class with grave interest.

Between chewing a pickled plum and sipping his bottled water he answered, "There's nothing to think about concerning the new student."

"You don't think she's pretty, the other boys do."

"I'm not the other boys."

Ten made a face, "Sometimes I forget you're made of stone when it comes to pretty girls. You should ask her out. I don't think anyone else did yet."

This time it was Neiji who made a face, "What is your obsession with me getting a girlfriend?"

"You really need one. For your health. And stuff. Also, I heard from the classmates that you kind of rejected poor Karin yesterday at the park."

"Ten, Karin sends me pictures of her bedroom wall with photos of my face."

"But the new student hasn't. This is why you should talk to her."

"Have you even seen the new student's forehead?" He offered her a plum.

"You know I hate umeboshi."

"Never hurts to try."

Ten gave a half-smile.

"I suppose…but not today."

"That's what you always say."

"Hm…that _is_ what I always say, isn't it?"

Neiji put the last of his pickled plums, the whole of it, into his mouth and got up to leave.

Ten smiled even wider, "So I've finally irritated you _twice_ for today?"

He gave a half-turn in her direction, "Hurry up."

Ten laughed as she gathered up her things and followed him out the cafeteria.

* * *

 _Author After-the-Fact Note: doing laundry and this popped into my head–just an experimentation between Ten & Cherry :] Thank you for reading and __**reviewing**_ _! :]]_

 _Author Quick Notes: [1] Hara-kiri is a samurai form of ritual suicide, it's cousin is seppuku [2] Yukari is the last name of Tenten's voice actor [3] Sakura's speech is rather slangy because of where she's from, Osaka [4] Umeboshi are also known as "pickled plums," and are one of Tenten's least favourite foods according to her character records!_

 _Thanks again, enjoy!_

 _Aier_ _é_


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